Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2650 Shimin's Resolve, Contents of the Secret Pouch

At the ferry crossing, the battle had reached a critical juncture for Li Shimin. Under the desperate fighting between Li Shimin and the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, the Jin army had been pushed to its limit and seemed on the verge of collapse.

Even now, when we've given it our all and are on the verge of defeating the Jin army, we're poised to give it our all.

However, after news came from Yi Sun-sin's side, Li Shimin instinctively sensed some problems and temporarily handed over command to his deputy general Shi Siming.

He himself summoned Li Yishan and Chen Xigao, one of whom was upright and honest, while the other was ruthless and vicious, resorting to any means necessary.

"My lord, have these Jin soldiers already been abandoned as pawns?" Li Yishan made a bold conjecture.

Under normal circumstances, Qi Jiguang would not have needed to resort to such a cruel, suicidal fighting style.

However, judging from the current situation, it seems that Qi Jiguang has no intention of coming back to reinforce the Jin army at the ferry crossing, but is instead preparing to annihilate their navy.

"Your Majesty, I believe the navy absolutely cannot continue fighting like this. If the navy suffers heavy losses, it will no longer be able to contend with the Jin army on the seas!" Chen Xiliang advised.

"How can it be so easy?"

"Qi Jiguang has given me a choice!"

"The ferry crossing and the navy, neither is a good choice?" Li Yishan said with a headache.

Even if they allowed Yi Sun-sin to withdraw at this point, it would be tantamount to opening up the way for Qi Jiguang to return to the ferry crossing.

Although the Jin army at the ferry was on the verge of collapse, opening the gap at that moment would mean all their efforts would be in vain!

Once Qi Jiguang successfully defends this crossing, what will happen to the Li Tang dynasty if the main force lands on a large scale?
However, they could only watch as both sides' navies fought to the point of mutual destruction.

Therefore, this is not a good thing for the future of Li Tang either.

"Has the naval force that the Jin army recalled really gone back?" At this moment, Li Shimin suddenly asked.

"What is Your Majesty's intention?"

Following Li Shimin's guess, Li Yishan and Chen Xigao were suddenly overcome with a cold sweat.

Yes, who can guarantee that the 20,000-strong naval force that marched into the mainland actually returned?

With 40,000 troops against 40,000, even if Qi Jiguang had targeted the Tang navy and used a suicidal tactic, he still wouldn't have been able to annihilate Yi Sun-sin.

Keep in mind that this was at sea, and any direction could be used as a breakout route if Yi Sun-sin wanted to leave.

In other words, Yi Sun-sin was simply fighting to the death; otherwise, it would have been very difficult to annihilate a navy of comparable strength at sea.

Therefore, Qi Jiguang definitely had a backup plan.

Therefore, the 20,000 people who left earlier were the only possibility that Li Shimin could think of.

He's been caught!
However, Li Yishan and Chen Xigao found themselves still caught in a dilemma, since this was just a conjecture on their part.

If their guess is correct, then having Yi Sun-sin retreat in time would certainly be the right choice. Based on their calculations, a swift retreat would still have a considerable chance of success.

If we delay any longer, and those 20,000 naval troops surround us, how will we retreat then?
However, if their guess was wrong, Yi Sun-sin simply withdrew.

Therefore, Qi Jiguang could have simply returned to reinforce the ferry crossing, and they would have lost the battle. Their previous decision to deliberately leave the coast undefended would have become a joke.

But if the prediction is wrong, will they still be able to have this consequence?
In fact, it is certainly unaffordable.

"Order Yi Sun-sin to hold out for another hour!"

"Make your own decision in one hour!"

"A bird in the bush is worth two in the bush. Let's annihilate this enemy force first!" Li Shimin said with a heavy heart.

For Li Shimin, at this point, war was the only option.

Although, judging from the current situation, the 20,000 naval troops at the ferry crossing seem to be nothing more than a pawn abandoned by the enemy, they must eliminate this pawn first.

His Xuanjia Iron Cavalry couldn't interfere with matters at sea.

Moreover, in this matter, the Jin army presented them with one choice after another, putting them in a dilemma.

Li Shimin knew that he had to make a decision immediately, and that he could not hesitate, especially when faced with such a choice.

Regardless of whether it is the right choice or the wrong choice, a decision must be made as soon as possible.

When faced with a decision, hesitation and procrastination can lead to worse outcomes than not making a choice at all.

Most importantly, Li Shimin trusted his own guesses and his own intuition.

When he realized something was wrong from the information he received from Yi Sun-sin, he instinctively felt that the 20,000 troops they had previously thought had left must not have left at this moment, and that these troops would definitely launch a surprise attack at a crucial moment.

If something is truly beyond repair, then he can only try his best to grasp what he can.

With this in mind, Li Shimin once again personally took to the field and launched a general offensive.

At this moment, he was extremely eager to capture this army as soon as possible and then have Yi Sun-sin retreat immediately.

If he could end the battle before the enemy's 20,000 troops could launch a counterattack, then this battle would be a complete victory for their Tang Dynasty.

Meanwhile, a hundred miles away on the sea, Qi Jiguang and Zhang Liang were also praying, hoping that the 20,000 troops heading to the ferry could hold out for longer.

They were able to hold out until Huan Wen's 20,000-strong navy returned.

To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive yourself.

Huan Wen genuinely believed that his troops were to return to their camp and use warships to pick up the main force.

Qi Jiguang simply left him a secret plan, instructing him to open it at a certain time. Once he opened it, he would naturally lead 20,000 naval troops to launch a surprise attack.

However, even if it had been discussed beforehand, timing could never be completely guaranteed. Not to mention, they are currently in a situation where no prior agreement has been made.

Therefore, Qi Jiguang not only left behind Li Bao, a famous general whom he greatly admired, at the ferry crossing, but also two fierce generals, Xuanwu and Li Yu.

Of course, the appearance of the two fierce generals, Xuanwu and Li Yu, at the ferry was also to mislead Li Shimin, so that he would not realize that the troops at the ferry had become their abandoned pawns.

After all, one of these two men was one of the most valiant generals in their Jin army, and the other was a member of the Jin imperial family.